Iran plans 'halal' internet

Ali Aghamohammadi, Iran's head of economic affairs, has gone on record saying that the country intends to launch an
Islamic "halal" edition
of the internet.

The plan is to avoid the difficulties of censorship by creating
a parallel network that conforms to Islamic principles, with the
eventual aim of countering western influence on the country.
Aghamohammadi told IRNA, Iran's state-run news agency, that the
project would be "aimed at Muslims on a ethical and moral
level".

"Iran will soon create an internet that conforms to Islamic
principles, " he said, "to improve its communication and trade
links with the world."

The proliferation of the Farsi language is also a goal, said
Aghamohammadi, who revealed that he hoped the proposed network
could eventually replace the web in Muslim countries. He told
IRNA: "The aim of this network is to increase Iran and the
Farsi language's presence in what has become the most important
source of international communication."

How successful the plan will be depends on the reaction from the
Iranian people. As early as 2004, Iran was the fourth largest country of bloggers in the
world, and it remains popular today. Those users are unlikely to want to move
to an entirely new internet. Alternative
DNS roots go against the open traditions of the web and as
such, haven't taken off in any significant way in the past. It's
hard to see Iran's attempt proving any more successful.